Moonlight Betrayal

ngers curled tight around the stone railing as she wa

eaceful. Serene. Untouched by the blo

li

erythin

voice called f

, always on edge. Commander Thorne, the head of Black-

the council meeting," he sa

eplied coolly, not taking he

ted movement beyond the southern

" Kaida sa

ned. "You don

rned to look a

ening in her chest. The shift in the air. The

ackwood

a year. Broken. Powerless. Even if he

ere you're wrong. He's exactly th

return not as the man they exiled, but as something far more dangerous. He

e dese

the memory of his blood pooling there after the council's decree.

prote

never bel

d Forest, Ryker stood with his men around a fire burning low and hungry. The

a former Alpha turned rogue, his right eye cloude

r dagger against a whetstone, his focus unblinking.

a growl beneath the cr

ou're waiting for

, knowing wh

the dagger - it embedded in the tre

full height. "I need fear. Panic. I need them to te

ntly, the wolf within pressing agai

won't leave survivors to te

own with a nod

owly. "The war

ed. "She's

Dax asked. "While the

narrowing. "So I'll come at dawn. When their shields are low,

here the sky was beginnin

what it means to

h Ryker, her steps slow, deliberate. It had been months sin

lingered. In the blade marks on the wall where he trained. In the notch

gently, as if it

charming in council, cruel in combat. He didn't ask questions w

miss

ce star

in the doorway. Pale skin, eyes too old for her face - T

leave," Ka

ut the threads are tighten

tightened. "

," Tessa said. "And wha

strides, grabbing Tessa by t

ds at a crossroads. One path leads to

hand d

said. "There's no co

. "Then you better be

d in the snow, watching the flicker of torch

ling low. The barrier buzzed acro

"And I want you to watch everything

ck into the shadow